The average enterprise will offshore around 60 percent of its application work by 2009, according to IT research group Meta. The figure will reach that point after escalating by nearly 20 percent annually each year through to 2008.
Even as the economy rebounds, information technology professionals face a new threat to their livelihoods.
Romania led the charge this year at London's second OutsourceWorld conference, as it seeks to find more UK businesses willing to take advantage of its IT expertise which, in 1962, was responsible for building the first computer in a Communist-bloc country.
Australia is up to the off-shoring challenge, according to international software expert Dr Philip Lehman, despite statistics from the Australian Computer Society (ACS) predicting a loss of 4000 ICT jobs by 2009.
IT services firms are expanding beyond their traditional role as overseers of networks, PCs and computer help desks, into "back office" areas such as accounting and human resources.
IT services firms are expanding beyond their traditional role as overseers of networks, PCs and computer help desks, into "back office" areas such as accounting and human resources.
Do women lack interest in IT, or is inadequate support and enduring stereotypes keeping them away?
After years in the wilderness, the Australian IT industry is again booming as major industries invest heavily in their IT infrastructure. Find out which skills are most in demand and how much remuneration to expect.
Businesses in the Australian IT sector might be able to earn a living by staying small, but for long-term survival they will have to look offshore.
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